Upon directions from His Highness, The Chancellor of the University of Sharjah called for a meeting with research representatives of all colleges on 26 February 2014 to discuss the current status of research at UoS and how to promote research at the university with the aim of becoming competitive on an international level.

Subsequently, the Chancellor formed a University Research Development Committee on March 2nd, 2014 with a mandate of makins the university into a research oriented one, and to become recognized as such. The Research Development Committee worked over a period of four months and submitted a proposal that included a complete overhaul of the research administration system at the University. The report was presented to the Board of Trustees at its meeting in August 2014 and the Board gave in-principal approval of the proposal. Specifically, the Board approved the following:

establishment of the Office of Vice Chancellor for Research and Graduate Studies; and

establishment of three research institutes:

Research Institute of Medical and Health Sciences

Research Institute of Sciences and Engineering

Research Institute of Humanities and Social Sciences

The Chancellor then appointed an Acting Vice Chancellor and three directors of the institutes. In addition, the Chancellor appointed two chairs for the following support Departments:

Research Funding

Research Publications

Other departments on Technology Transfer and Research Outreach are planned to be established in the near future.

Since their appointment in September 2014, the team of the Office of the Vice Chancellor worked on establishing the various research entities and regulations. This report presents a summary of the activities of the team and outlines a number of organizational changes that will help UOS to achieve its mission.

In the past 5 months, an Acting Vice-Chancellor office was appointed, directors of three institutes, and chairs of departments. their mandate is to bring together the different research entities of UOS in joint planning and decision-making, and to increase their accountability to one another toward advancing the quality and quantity of the research at the University. We have also proposed our budgeting, financial processes, physical and human resources for the same purpose, focused our research planning for the coming years and reported this to the BOT. The organizational changes we made, in consultation with deans and chairs as well as the university higher administration, are a further stage in this process of ensuring that we have effective research organizational managements structure to achieve the core goals of advancing research at the UOS.

Many of the issues, mechanisms of implementation, and plans that this summary raises are to be addressed and approved by the higher UOS managements and the BOT as well. As we anticipate these actions will enable change in the research directions that we believe we need to pursue to achieve our long term goals. As such, we believe that the strategic plan we put forward on the long term, commits the university to a distinguished research position through reputable research and innovation, and to the promotion of the UOS to be internationally competitive in research as a core value of its strategic goal.

Proposed Organization of the Office of the Vice-Chancellor for Research and Graduate Studies-Office Entities- Click Here

We present below, a summary of the strategic plan of the Office of Vice Chancellor for Research and Graduate Studies ( VCRGS) .

VCRGS OFFICE VISIONThe University of Sharjah, through the Vice Chancellor for Research and Graduate Studies (VCRGS) Office, envisions itself to be internationally recognized for excellence in research, postgraduate studies and research-related professional service to the community.

VCRGS OFFICE MISSIONThe mission of the VCRGS Office is to foster a culture of inquiry, creativity, innovation and excellence in research and scholarship, contribute to the discovery, expansion and dissemination of knowledge, promote transfer of technology and provide high quality postgraduate programs to serve the socio-cultural and economic development needs of national, regional and international communities.

VCRGS OFFICE CORE VALUES (same as UOS values)The University of Sharjah endeavors to achieve its mission through a set of nine core values that define its character and color its personality.Ethical and Civic Responsibility: The first and primary value is the commitment of the University community to ethical and civic responsibility in accordance with Islamic teachings and universal humanistic ideals.Learning Environment: The University is committed to a student-centered and supportive modern learning environment that promotes critical thinking, independence of thought and the mastery of advanced technologies.Quality: The University is committed to high quality standards and continuous improvement in teaching, scholarship and service.Creativity: The University promotes and rewards creativity and innovation in the pursuit of academic excellence.Outreach: The University is dedicated to community outreach, emphasizing service, transferring of knowhow, and making a positive contribution to the welfare of the people.Global Outlook: While rooted in Islamic and Arabic traditions, the University promotes an international outlook and respect for other individuals and cultures.Intellectual Freedom: The University promotes openness, diversity, fairness and academic freedom.Leadership and Collegiality: The University promotes teamwork, tolerance and leadership by example.Accountability: Personal and institutional responsibility, transparency and accountability are necessary conditions for the accomplishment of the University's mission and goals

VCRGS OFFICE GOALS( Research Part of UOS Strategic Plan)Goal 1: Raise scientific research and scholarship at UOS to an international level:Objective 1.1: Provide critical mass of human resources for quality research.Objective 1.2: Foster excellence in research.Objective 1.3: Provide sufficient funding.Objective 1.4: Increase the level of research support to faculty.Goal 2: Develop the necessary infrastructure needed for research:Objective 2.1: Establish the Vice Chancellor for Research Office.Objective 2.2: Reorganize the current research entities into three Research Institutes.Objective 2.3: Reorganize/establish Research Centers/Labs/Groups.Objective 2.4: Establish specialized research labs/Research Chairs in strategic areas that serve the community.Objective 2.5: Establish a technology transfer unit.Objective 2.6: Establish the Research and Development Outreach Office.Objective 2.7: Establish the Central Multi-Purpose Workshop to support research and development.Goal 3: Expand Graduate Studies Programs to establish more relevant specialties and higher degree with international quality :Objective 3.1: Introduce new quality M.Sc. and Ph. D programs in various disciplines to serve the needs of the local and regional markets.Objective 3.2: Aggressively recruit competitive national and international graduate students.Objective 3.3: Recruit research oriented faculty to serve and make these programs successful.Objective 3.4: Establish state-of-the-art research laboratories necessary to make these programs. Goal 7: Forge strategic partnerships with the local community, including the public service and industry in order to be responsive to the socio-economic needs of the community through dedicated applied research:Objective 7.1: Establish effective lifelong collaboration with the community:Objective 7.2: Offer professional services to meet needs of the community:Objective 7.3: Direct research to serve the community:Objective 7.4: Involve graduate students in applied research:Objective 7.5: Increase research collaboration within and beyond the campus:Objective 7.6: Increase the development, protection and commercialization of intellectual property generated by faculty and studentsGoal 8: Contribute to the scientific, economic, socio-cultural progress of the UAE society through social responsiveness and effective engagement:Objective 8.1: Promote research collaboration with local authorities, organizations and industrial partners:Objective 8.2: Enhance the role of the UOS in global issues such as environmental concerns​, technical advances, etc.:Objective 8.3: Encourage association with the local community by hosting, actively participating and sponsoring national and international conferences:Objective 8.4: Provide special training, licensing and certification programs to serve the needs of the local community:Objective 8.5: Actively contribute to scientific activities for students in high schools:Objective 8.6: Increase the visibility of UOS in the local community by taking an active role in sponsoring and participating in socio-cultural events, national celebrations and sporting events: